A Street With a Story: The History of Durham’s “Black Wall Street”
Overview
At the beginning of the 20th century, African Americans in North Carolina and throughout the
United States faced many challenges. Jim Crow laws and expectations were rampant and African
Americans in cities such as Wilmington, NC, were the victim of white supremacy campaigns and
violence. Yet, in the midst of such racial injustice and intolerance, a black business district began to
flourish in Durham, NC in the late 1890s. In the following activities, students will explore how
various black entrepreneurs thrived in Durham’s downtown, so much so that Durham’s Parrish Street
was soon known as “Black Wall Street.” Through the exploration of Main Street, Carolina’s digital
history project on Parrish Street, available at
http://mainstreet.lib.unc.edu/projects/parrish_st_durham/, as well as through readings, class
discussion, primary source examination, partner activities, and group activities, students will gain a
sense of the challenges overcome and successes experienced by the various black entrepreneurs and
businesses on Black Wall Street. In a creative culminating project, students will apply what they have
learned to create their own revitalization plan for Parrish Street today.
Grade
11
NC Essential Standards for American History II
 AH2.H.1.2- Use Historical comprehension…
 AH2.H.1.3- Use historical analysis and interpretation…
 AH2.H.1.4- Use historical research…
 AH2.H.2.1 - Analyze key political, economic, and social turning points since the end of
Reconstruction in terms of causes and effects (e.g., conflicts, legislation, elections, innovations,
leadership, movements, Supreme Court decisions, etc.).
 AH2.H.4.1 - Analyze the political issues and conflicts that impacted the United States since
Reconstruction and the compromises that resulted (e.g., Populism, Progressivism, working
conditions and labor unrest, New Deal, Wilmington Race Riots, Eugenics, Civil Rights Movement,
Anti-War protests, Watergate, etc.).
 AH2.H.4.3 - Analyze the social and religious conflicts, movements and reforms that impacted the
United States since Reconstruction in terms of participants, strategies, opposition, and results (e.g.,
Prohibition, Social Darwinism, Eugenics, civil rights, anti-war protest, etc.).
 AH2.H.4.4 - Analyze the cultural conflicts that impacted the United States since Reconstruction
and the compromises that resulted (e.g., nativism, Back to Africa movement, modernism,
fundamentalism, black power movement, women’s movement, counterculture, Wilmington Race
Riots, etc.).
 AH2.H.5.1 - Summarize how the philosophical, ideological and/or religious views on freedom and
equality contributed to the development of American political and economic systems since
Reconstruction (e.g., “separate but equal”, Social Darwinism, social gospel, civil service system,
suffrage, Harlem Renaissance, the Warren Court, Great Society programs, American Indian
Movement, etc.).
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Essential Questions
 What were the characteristics of the Jim Crow South?
 What laws and expectations were in effect during the Jim Crow Era?
 How were individual citizens affected by Jim Crow?
 What can be difficult about starting a new business? What risks may be involved?
 What were the major businesses located on Durham’s Black Wall Street and what did it take for
them to be successful?
 What additional difficulties and risks faced black entrepreneurs such as John Merrick, Dr. Aaron
M. Moore, Charles Clinton Spaulding, and R.B. Fitzgerald, during the late 1800s and early 1900s?
 Why is the formation and success of Durham’s “Black Wall Street” even more significant when
considering the time period during which it flourished?
 In what ways has NC Mutual exhibited a commitment to service?
 Who were some prominent African American visitors to Black Wall Street and why were they
drawn to Durham?
 In what ways can we honor and preserve the history and legacy of Durham’s Black Wall Street?
Materials
 Day 1
o “What Do You See?”, warm up activity attached
o Segregated Water Fountains, image attached
o The Jim Crow Era, handout attached
o Sampling of Jim Crow Laws, 5 handouts attached
o Jim Crow Evaluation Worksheet, attached (this form should be cut in two)
o “Success for Black Entrepreneurs in Durham, NC,” reading and questions attached
 Day 2
o Computers with access to: http://mainstreet.lib.unc.edu/projects/parrish_st_durham/
o Image of NC Mutual Post Card, available at
http://www.durhamcountylibrary.org/ncc/postcards/js054.php
o Parrish Street Scavenger Hunt, attached
o Laptop with speakers connected to Internet with access to short 1940s film located at
http://www.ncmutuallife.com/newsite/videos/past_present_future.html
o “North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company - A Commitment to Service,” reading
attached

Day 3
o Who Am I Images 1-3, attached
o “Black businesses in Durham,” by W. E. B. Du Bois, reading and discussion questions attached
Materials (cont.)
 Culminating Activity
o Heritage Directions Urban Planning Consulting Firm, assignment attached
o Optional: Internet access or access to library for further Parrish Street research
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Duration
 2-3 class periods (teachers can pick and choose which activities to lead based on their classroom’s
time constraints.)
 Additional time will be needed for completion and presentation of the Culminating Activity.
Student Preparation
 Students should have a basic understanding of the Jim Crow era and prominent events during
this time, such as the Wilmington Race Riots, as well as an understanding of expectations for
discussing controversial issues.
Teacher Preparation
 While studying the Jim Crow era brings up sensitive topics, it is important for students to explore
these events to gain a well rounded appreciation regarding the success of Durham’s “Black Wall
Street.” In order to study this history effectively and safely however, teachers must have
established a safe classroom with clear expectations of respect, open-mindedness, and civil
conversation.
 Before Day 2 of this lesson, arrange time in the computer lab or another space where students can
have access to the Internet (students can partner up on computers for this activity.) At the
beginning of class on Day 2, have each computer set to the website
http://mainstreet.lib.unc.edu/projects/parrish_st_durham/, which is a digital history site provided
by Main Street, Carolina containing a map of historical Parrish Street and multiple markers with
primary source information students can explore to learn more about the various buildings that
comprised Black Wall Street. This site is best accessed by the Firefox browser, available at
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/. Teachers should explore the site prior to class in order to better
assist students as they browse the information.
Procedure
Day 1
An Introduction to Jim Crow and Segregation
1. As a warm-up, distribute the attached “What Do You See?” worksheet and instruct students to
take around three minutes to closely examine the photograph and brainstorm their initial
thoughts. If possible, teachers should also project the image at the front of the room. After
students have had time to write their initial thoughts, have them report their thoughts to the
remainder of class and further discuss:
 Many of you first noticed the two separate entrances for “White” and “Colored.” Why were
these two doors labeled in this way?
 What is the term for the separation of people, or the separation of the resources they can use,
based on their race?
2. Project the attached “Segregated Water Fountains” image to enhance the conversation of
segregation. Discuss:
 What do you see?
 How does this image compare with the first one you observed?
 Why are there two water fountains and why do you think they were labeled this way?
 What time period do you think this picture represents? What evidence makes you think this?
 What comes to mind when you hear the word segregation?
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3. Explain to the class that they will be learning about a very difficult period of history, when black
people and other minorities were degraded throughout the South by various laws and etiquette
expectations. This period was known as the Jim Crow Era.
4. Partner students up and distribute the attached handout, The Jim Crow Era. Instruct partners to
read and discuss the handout regarding the Jim Crow Era, noting answers on their sheet. Let
students know that as they read, they may feel upset or offended by the laws and expectations our
society unfairly had in place. Discuss with students that it is perfectly understandable to be
angered by what took place during this period of history. But it is nonetheless important to study
and be aware of such history to pay tribute to the people who fought for justice and brought an
end to Jim Crow, as well as to live by their example and ensure equality for all people today.
Remind students that you trust them to be mature and sensitive historians as they review this
material.
5. Once partners are finished, allow them to share their thoughts:
 How were you feeling as you read through these etiquettes and rules of the Jim Crow era?
Why? (chart student answers in a list on chart paper)
 Which etiquette/rule do you find most disturbing? Why?
 How do you think these laws and expectations became the societal “norm”? In other words,
why do you think they were created? Why do you think they existed for so long?
 How do you think these rules and expectations affected society (black and white)?
 If the year were 1900, how would your life be different based on the rules and expectations
you read about?
 For those of you who were unfamiliar with the Jim Crow Era, what do you find most
shocking/surprising about this period of history?
 If you were living during the Jim Crow Era, what choices would you have to show your
displeasure with the Jim Crow way of life?
6. Explain to students that “from the 1880s into the 1960s, a majority of American states enforced
segregation through “Jim Crow” laws (so called after a black character in minstrel shows). From
Delaware to California, and from North Dakota to Texas, many states (and cities, too) could
impose legal punishments on people for consorting with members of another race. The most
common types of laws forbade intermarriage and ordered business owners and public institutions
to keep their black and white clientele separated.” (Source: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchistnewcentury/5103)
7. Tell students that as a group, they will now examine actual laws that existed in southern states at
various points in the Jim Crow Era. Divide students into groups of 5 and give each group
member one of the attached five “Sampling of Jim Crow Laws” handouts (each group member
will thus have a different set of laws) and the “Jim Crow Evaluation Worksheet.” (In order to
save paper, two handouts are located on the “Jim Crow Evaluation Handout;” teachers should
thus cut the worksheet in half.)
8. Each group member should first take around 6-8 silent minutes to review their handout of laws as
an individual and answer the questions provided to them. Let the groups know that since each
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group member is reviewing a different handout containing different laws, each group member
will be responsible for teaching the rest of their group about the laws they read about. After
students have finished reading and answering their questions, each group member should take 12 minutes to discuss the laws he/she read about within their group. After each group member has
summarized their laws with their group, discus as a class:
 Of all state laws, which do you find most disturbing and why?
 Were any of these laws in effect today, would you be breaking any of them? Explain.
 What types of consequences do you imagine African Americans received when breaking one
of these laws?
 Why is it difficult to study such harsh periods of history as the Jim Crow Era? Even given the
difficulty, why is it important to be educated on such history, and not to avoid its difficult
subject matter?
 As those of us today, who never directly experienced or participated in the Jim Crow Era,
learn about it, why is it important to not let anger get the best of us or to place blame
regarding the Jim Crow Era?
o Tim Tyson, author of “Blood Done Sign My Name,” used the phrase “Lean into it” to describe his
means of dealing with difficult material. Let your students know that feeling mixed emotions about
such a harsh history is natural, but often we learn the most in moments when we are uncomfortable.
Rather than clam up and avoid such moments, “Lean into it” and learn.
 We honor our ancestors by learning about and caring about the history they endured. What
are other ways we can honor them? What are our responsibilities as citizens today to ensure
Jim Crow never comes back?
 See http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newcentury/5704 for additional information to share with
students regarding how states got by with passing such unjust laws. This site summarizes such information
as the Civil Rights Act of 1875, Plessy v. Ferguson and “separate but equal,” and more.
Black Entrepreneurs During Jim Crow
9. Tell students that you want them to now imagine that they are a black entrepreneur living in
North Carolina in 1900, when Jim Crow laws are rampant throughout the south and discuss:
 First, what is an entrepreneur? (Discuss with students that an entrepreneur is an individual
who accepts financial risks and undertakes new financial ventures, typically through starting a
business. Tell students that in this scenario, you want them to imagine that they want to start
a new business in Durham, NC in the year 1900.)
 Given the fact that you are black and the year is 1900, what challenges would be stacked
against you regarding starting your own business?
o Label a piece of chart paper with the word “Challenges” and note student thoughts
underneath. Encourage them to consider all aspects of starting a new business and how
these aspects would be even more challenging for an African American person in the
height of the Jim Crow Era.
10. Explain to students that as states passed “Jim Crow” laws to keep the races separate and to restrict
the opportunities of African Americans, more than a million African Americans fled the Jim Crow
South, especially after World War I, seeking opportunity in northern cities. However, some
African Americans who stayed in North Carolina fought their way to success, even in the face of
such adversity. Once such story of triumph can be found in Durham, NC, where several black
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owned and operated businesses began to thrive, even during a time of such massive oppression
and injustice. In fact, the black business district that formed in downtown Durham was so
successful, it eventually became known as “Black Wall Street.” It was home to some of the largest
black-owned businesses in the nation.
11. Next, provide students with a copy of the attached reading and discussion questions, “Success for
Black Entrepreneurs in Durham, NC.” Instruct students to complete the reading in partners and
then discuss and answer the corresponding questions. Once students have read and thought
about the questions, discuss further as a class, ensuring students gain an understanding of the
significance of what was accomplished on Parrish Street. For anyone during any time period to
start a business from scratch and be successful is a feat to be celebrated. However, for African
Americans to start businesses and thrive in the middle of the Jim Crow South is a testament to
black courage, spirit, and resilience.
Once students have completed their reading, discuss what they read and their thoughts regarding
the discussion questions as a class.
Create a Parrish Street Post Card
12. To culminate the day’s lesson, project or handout the image of the North Carolina Mutual Life
Insurance Company building post card located at
http://mainstreet.lib.unc.edu/projects/parrish_st_durham/index.php/markers/view/10. The post
card can also be found at http://www.durhamcountylibrary.org/ncc/postcards/js054.php. Ask
students to comment on what they see and discuss:
 What/where is being pictured here? What evidence makes you think this?
 What time period might this image be from? What evidence makes you think this? (Discuss
items such as the building itself, the style and colors of the postcard, etc.)
 What type of image do you think this is? What was its purpose?
o Let students know that this is a post card of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance
Company building on Parrish Street, which was built in 1921 and became the nation’s
largest black-owned life insurance company. Remind students that N.C. Mutual was
organized in 1898 by John Merrick and Dr. A. M. Moore. A new building was completed in
1966.
 Why do you think there was a postcard made of NC Mutual? Where might you have gotten
such a postcard in the early 1900s? Who might have wanted such a post card and why?
13. Tell students that for homework, you want them to consider what they have learned today about
Parrish Street/Black Wall Street, and to create their own historical postcard. The finished postcard
should contain:
 Original art work, which must include at least one of the following:
o a drawing of a physical structure from historical Parrish Street (i.e., a particular building
you’ve read about, or a general image of the street)
o a prominent person involved in Black Wall Street
o a symbolic or abstract symbol or drawing that you feel captures the essence and
importance of the spirit of Black Wall Street
 A caption highlighting the significance of Parrish Street
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14. When class meets again, have the students hang all of their postcards around the room and allow
a few minutes of time for a gallery walk, during which students can circulate and view one
another’s work.
Day 2
Exploring Parrish Street with Main Street, Carolina
15. Teacher Preparation: Before Day 2 of this lesson, arrange time in the computer lab or another
space where students can have access to the Internet (students can partner up on computers for
this activity.) At the beginning of class, have each computer set to the website
http://mainstreet.lib.unc.edu/projects/parrish_st_durham, which is a digital history site provided
by Main Street, Carolina containing a map of historical Parrish Street and multiple markers with
primary source information students can explore to learn more about the various buildings that
comprised Black Wall Street, as well as other information. This site is best accessed by the Mozilla
Firefox browser, available at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/. Teachers should explore the site
prior to class in order to better assist students as they browse the information.
User tips:
 By clicking on the “View Map” link at the top of the page, students can navigate the site via a
map of downtown Durham and Parrish Street that appears to the right. The map image that
automatically loads is a current view of downtown Durham and Parrish Street from Google
Maps. It is recommended students check the “Current Street Names” box on this page so that
they can get a sense of exactly where they are exploring.
 There is also the option in the map view of selecting one or more of three historical Sanborn
maps listed, which will then overlay the Google map. (A Sanborn map of Durham in 1884,
1898, and 1913 is available.) Students can select one or more of these maps, then use the
transparency bar underneath to fade each map in and out. This can be a good tool for
enabling students to view the various changes and development in Durham between 1884 to
today.
o For example, if students clicked the 1884 Sanborn map box, they could compare
changes from then and now by moving the transparency button. Students could then
also check the 1913 map box, and again use the transparency bar to examine the
differences between 1884 and 1913.
 Let students know that they can use the navigation bar within the map’s window to move the
map view around. (The four arrows will take the user in the direction it points by clicking on
it; the + and – signs allow the user to zoom in or out by clicking on them.) Likewise, students
can click on the map and drag their mouse to navigate as well.
 Various markers are plotted along Parrish Street. There are two types of markers, with red
tear drops signaling historical buildings and smaller blue tear drops signaling historical
markers (all of which are actually thematic art installations that were recently installed along
Parrish Street.) Let students know that they can click on the red markers to view information
about what building and business(s) was located here. Various primary source information,
images, and other historical information about each building is attached to the marker.
Likewise, by clicking on the blue markers, students can view a small image of the art
installation and then read information connected to the theme(s) represented in each piece of
art.
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
Students can also click on the “Markers” tab at the top of the page for an alternative view of
the information contained on this site. Rather than exploring via the map, this view simply
provides a list of all of the markers as hyperlinks. Students can click on any of the marker
names and access the same information (i.e. primary source documents, historical
descriptions, etc.)
16. At the beginning of class (after time has been provided to view student-created postcards if that
assignment was completed), tell students that they are going to get some time to “tour” Parrish
Street and its history “virtually.” Introduce students to the Main Street, Carolina site for Parrish
Street, explaining what information they can peruse and how to access the information through
the various options noted above. (If possible, teachers may want to begin by having the site
projected in the front of the room. This way, you can click through it and give students a “sample
run” of how they themselves can explore the site.) Give students around 5-7 minutes to explore
the site freely.
17. Next, call students back to attention and pass out the attached Parrish Street Scavenger Hunt.”
Tell students that they are going to have approximately 15-20 minutes to continue exploring the
site while focusing on finding the answers to the questions provided. (Teachers may want to offer
a prize for the first students finished and correctly answering the questions.)
18. Once students have completed the Scavenger Hunt, go over the correct answers. (An answer key
is also attached.)
North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company & their Commitment to Service
19. Finally, tell students you want to spend some time focusing on one of the most prominent
businesses on “Black Wall Street,” the NC Mutual Life Insurance Company. Ask students to share
what they discovered about NC Mutual while exploring the Carolina, Main Street site, or what
they remember from their reading assigned in the prior class.
20. Project and play the short 2 ½ minute video created by NC Mutual, circa 1940, located at
http://www.ncmutuallife.com/newsite/videos/past_present_future.html. The link is also available
within the MSC site at
http://mainstreet.lib.unc.edu/projects/parrish_st_durham/index.php/markers/view/17. (Teachers
can also direct students to watch the film individually if they are still at their computers.)
Afterwards, discuss:
 The narrator describes Durham as a “young and progressive city.” What evidence of this can
you note, based on what you’ve learned or what you saw in the video?
 What year do you think this film was created? What evidence makes you think this?
 What do you think the purpose of this file was? Why was it created? Where would it have
been played?
 This short film about the "Mutual" was actually a featured trailer in black movie theaters circa
1940. Does this change your impression of its purpose at all? Explain.
 What is your impression of Charles Spaulding?
 Why was NC Mutual’s 50th anniversary such a big deal?
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21. Next, pass out the attached “North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company - A Commitment to
Service” reading and questions. Either individually or in partners, instruct students read the
handout and answer the questions provided.
End class by having students share their thoughts to the questions. As a culminating discussion,
ask students to discuss the following in partners, then report back to the class as a whole with
their one line motto:
 Imagine that NC Mutual has come to you as a consultant and asked you to create a new motto
for the company. Brainstorm various phrases that you and your partner feel are appropriate
based on all you have learned about NC Mutual. Be prepared to state your motto for the
remainder of class and explain why you think it fits.
Day 3
Prominent Visitor’s to Durham’s Black Wall Street
22. As a warm-up, instruct students to label a piece of paper #1-3. Project (or handout) the attached
“Who Am I – Image 1” and ask students to write down who they think is pictured. Repeat the
same instructions with the attached images 2 and 3. Finally, return to the first image and ask
students to share their responses, letting students know that the person pictured is W.E.B. Dubois.
Ask students to share what they already know about W.E.B DuBois and why he is significant to
African American history. Teachers may want to share information such as:
 William Edward Burghardt Dubois was a sociologist, author & civil rights leader. Born on
February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, he is considered one of the most
influential black leaders of the first half of the 20th Century. Dubois was the first African
American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1896. Between 1897 and 1914 Dubois
conducted numerous studies of black society in America, publishing 16 research papers. He
began his investigations believing that social science could provide answers to race problems.
Gradually he concluded that in a climate of virulent racism, social change could only be
accomplished by agitation and protest. By 1903 he had learned enough to state in his famous
writing The Souls of Black Folk that "the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of
the color line," and he spent the remainder of his long life trying to break down racial barriers.
Dubois shared in the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP) in 1909 and served as its director of research and editor of its magazine,
"Crisis," until 1934. (For additional information to share with students, see
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/w-e-b-du-bois.)
23. Next, return to image 2 and allow students to share their guesses as to who is pictured, letting
them know that this is Booker T. Washington.
 Booker Taliaferro Washington, born on April 5, 1856, was an American educator, author,
orator and political leader. Although he was born into slavery in southwest Virginia, he
eventually became a dominant figure in the African American community from 1890 to 1915.
After being emancipated, Washington worked his way to Hampton Roads, VA seeking an
education. He attended Hampton University Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute
(now Hampton University) and attended college at Wayland Seminary (now Virginia Union
University). After returning to Hampton as a teacher, in 1881 he was named as the first leader
of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Often speaking on behalf of blacks living in the
South, Washington received national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895, attracting
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the attention of politicians and the public as a popular spokesperson for African American
citizens. Washington built a nationwide network of supporters in many black communities,
with black ministers, educators and businessmen composing his core supporters. Washington
played a dominant role in black politics, winning wide support in the black community and
among more liberal whites (especially rich Northern whites). He gained access to top national
leaders in politics, philanthropy and education. Washington's efforts included cooperating
with white people and enlisting the support of wealthy philanthropists, which helped raise
funds to establish and operate thousands of small community schools and institutions of
higher education for the betterment of blacks throughout the South, work which continued for
many years after his death.
In addition to the substantial contributions in the field of education, Dr. Washington was the
author of 14 books; his autobiography, Up From Slavery, first published in 1901, is still widely
read today. During a difficult period of transition for the United States, he did much to
improve the overall friendship and working relationship between the races. His work greatly
helped blacks to achieve higher education, financial power and understanding of the U.S. legal
system. This led to a foundation of the skill set needed to support the Civil Rights Movement
of the 1960s and further adoption of important federal civil rights laws.
(Source: http://www.historycooperative.org/btw/index.html)
24. Return to image 3, who most students were likely able to identify as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
and ask students to share what they already know about him.
 Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist,
and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. He is best known for
being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the
world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. King is often
presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism. A Baptist minister,
King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott
and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first
president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I
Have a Dream" speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color
blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end
racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent
means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and
stopping the Vietnam War. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.
He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional
Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. national holiday in
1986. (Source: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html)
25. Finally, ask students if any of them know what these three prominent African American leaders
have in common, letting them know that one such thing is that each of them visited Durham’s
Black Wall Street based on the significant accomplishments being made by African Americans!
Share with students:
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
“In 1910, Booker T. Washington came to Durham and visited NC Mutual Life Insurance
accompanied by CC Spaulding, Aaron McDuffie Moore and others responsible for the
progress in Durham. Washington was impressed, saying “if blacks across the south would
emulate blacks in Durham, they would be on their way to prosperity and economic security.”
Also, in the early 1900s, W.E.B DuBois wrote about his visit to Durham saying, ‘There is a
singular group in Durham where a black man may get up in the morning from a mattress
made by black men, in a house which a black man built out of lumber which black men cut
and planed; he may put on a suit which he bought at a colored haberdashery and socks knit at
a colored mill; he may cook victuals from a colored grocery on a stove which black men
fashioned; he may earn his living working for colored men, be sick in a colored hospital and
buried from a colored church; and the Negro insurance society will pay his widow enough to
keep his children in a colored school. This is surely progress.’

During the civil rights era, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., made five public appearances in
Durham. The most dramatic was on February 16, 1960, as the sit-in movement swept across
the Jim Crow South. After visiting the Durham Woolworth's, located on Parrish Street, which
had closed its lunch counter after demonstrations the previous week, King addressed a
standing-room-only crowd of 1,200 people at White Rock Baptist Church. On April 4, 1968,
King was scheduled for a visit to Durham, but cancelled at the last minute. Instead, that day,
he was murdered on a motel balcony in Memphis.”
(Source: http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/eed/parrish/p_history_s2.cfm)
Let students know that another prominent person who visited Durham was Malcolm X. A
gifted orator and advocate for political action to advance black interests, Malcolm X poke in a
Durham lodge hall on April 18, 1963. Originally scheduled at North Carolina Central
University, his speech was moved after university officials denied the controversial former
Black Muslim permission to appear on campus.
Discuss:
 Why do you think such prominent African Americans were visiting Durham over the years?
(Discuss with students how “the three small blocks that make up Parrish Street were the
birthplace of an African-American financial infrastructure that nurtured the black middle class
into existence and helped Durham become a prosperous city at the beginning of the 20th
century.” Source: http://www.indyweek.com/indyweek/honoring-the-past-facing-thefuture/Content?oid=1200469)
Black Businesses in Durham
26. Next, provide students with the attached reading “Black businesses in Durham,” written by
DuBois after his visit to Durham, as well as the discussion questions. In partners, instruct
students to read the handout then discuss the questions provided. Once students are finished, go
over their thoughts and answers as a class. Remind students that almost a century after DuBois'
visit and writings, two of the most significant financial institutions he noted are still thriving: N.C.
Mutual Life and Mechanics and Farmers Bank.
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Culminating Activity: Heritage Directions Urban Planning Consulting Firm
27. Give students that attached project assignment and tell them that they are to imagine that they are
employees of the Heritage Directions Urban Planning Consulting Firm. Go over the assignment
in detail with students, explaining that in groups, they will be responsible for developing a
revitalization plan for Parrish Street. Students will rely on what they have learned about Parrish
Street, as well as conduct additional research, to find out how to make this area of downtown
Durham a “hot” destination, while also preserving and celebrating its diverse history. Allow
students to ask any questions and let them know when the project is due. Teachers should also
determine and let students know how much class time will be provided for completion of the
project. It is recommended that students be able to present their proposal for revitalization to the
remainder of class on the due date. After each group’s presentation, students should participate
in a feedback session in which they explain what they liked about the proposal and presentation,
as well as share any questions they have of the group and the proposal. After all proposals have
been presented, teachers can have the class vote on which proposal they feel is best.
28. After students have presented their revitalization proposal, teachers may want to share some of
Durham’s actual ideas and plans for how to bring new life to Parrish Street. Detailed information
can be found at: http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/eed/pdf/parrish_street.pdf
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Name: ___________________________
What Do You See?
Source: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/uploads/2009/02/3c29840v.jpg
1. What do you first notice about this image? What strikes you or captures your attention immediately
and why?
2. When do you think this photo may have been taken (note specific years or a time period) and what
evidence makes you think this?
3. Based on what you see, how was life different at the time of this photo than it is today?
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Segregated Water Fountains
Source: http://faculty.umf.maine.edu/walter.sargent/public.www/web%20104/30s%20parks%20segregation.jpg
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Name: _____________________________
The Jim Crow Era
The term Jim Crow originated in an 1830s song performed by a white minstrel show
actor, “Daddy Rice.” In a racist portrayal of African Americans, Rice covered his face
with charcoal paste or burnt cork to resemble a black man, and then sang and danced a
routine in stereotypical caricature of a black person. By the 1900s, the name Jim Crow
was used to identify racist laws and actions in southern America that deprived African
Americans of their civil rights.
Between 1877 and the mid-1960s, Jim Crow laws were in effect and represented a
series of rigid anti-Black policies and expectations. Jim Crow also referred to a way of
life. Under Jim Crow etiquette expectations, African Americans were viewed and treated
as second class citizens and experienced common discrimination. In the Jim Crow
South, there was a common misconception that Blacks were intellectually and culturally
inferior to Whites. Jim Crow laws and etiquette only reinforced these unfair beliefs in
the legal system, where Blacks were ordered to use separate restrooms, water fountains,
restaurants, waiting rooms, parks and swimming pools, libraries, hospitals, bus seats,
and even cemeteries.
Examples of Jim Crow “Etiquette,” 1870s-1960s:
a. A Black male could not offer his hand (to shake hands) with a White male because it implied being socially
equal. A Black male could not offer his hand or any other part of his body to a White woman, because he risked
being accused of rape.
b. Blacks and Whites were not supposed to eat together. If they did eat together, Whites were to be served first,
and some sort of partition was to be placed between them.
c. Under no circumstance was a Black male to offer to light the cigarette of a White female -- that gesture
implied intimacy.
d. Blacks were not allowed to show public affection toward one another in public, especially kissing, because it
offended Whites.
e. Jim Crow etiquette prescribed that Blacks were introduced to Whites, never Whites to Blacks. For example:
"Mr. Peters (the White person), this is Charlie (the Black person), that I spoke to you about."
f. Whites did not use courtesy titles of respect when referring to Blacks, for example, Mr., Mrs., Miss., Sir, or
Ma'am. Instead, Blacks were called by their first names. Blacks had to use courtesy titles when referring to
Whites and were not allowed to call them by their first names.
g. If a Black person rode in a car driven by a White person, the Black person sat in the back seat or the back of
a truck.
h. White motorists had the right-of-way at all intersections.
Other Jim Crow Rules
Stetson Kennedy, the author of Jim Crow Guide, offered these simple rules that Blacks were supposed to
observe in conversing with Whites:
1. Never assert or even intimate that a White person is lying.
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2. Never impute dishonorable intentions to a White person.
3. Never suggest that a White person is from an inferior class.
4. Never lay claim to, or overly demonstrate, superior knowledge or intelligence.
5. Never curse a White person.
6. Never laugh derisively at a White person.
7. Never comment upon the appearance of a White female.
Source: Ferris State University - http://www.ferris.edu/news/jimcrow/what.htm
Think about it…
1. How were you feeling as you read through these etiquettes and rules of the Jim Crow era? Why?
2. Which etiquette/rule do you find most disturbing? Why?
3. How do you think the above behaviors became the societal “norm”? In other words, why do you think they
were created?
4. How do you think these rules and expectations affected society (black and white)?
5. If the year were 1900, how would your life be different based on the above rules and expectations?
6. If you were living during the Jim Crow Era, what choices would you have to make your displeasure with the
Jim Crow way of life known?
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Sampling of Jim Crow Laws – Set 1
Amateur Baseball
It shall be unlawful for any amateur white baseball team to play baseball on any vacant lot or
baseball diamond within two blocks of a playground devoted to the Negro race, and it shall be
unlawful for any amateur colored baseball team to play baseball in any vacant lot or baseball
diamond within two blocks of any playground devoted to the white race. (Georgia)
Barbers
No colored barber shall serve as a barber [to] white women or girls. (Georgia)
Blind persons
The board of trustees shall…maintain a separate building…on separate ground for the
admission, care, instruction, and support of all blind persons of the colored or black race.
(Louisiana)
Burial
The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set
apart or used for the burial of white persons. (Georgia)
Child Custody
It shall be unlawful for any parent, relative, or other white person in this State, having the
control or custody of any white child, by right of guardianship, natural or acquired, or
otherwise, to dispose of, give or surrender such white child permanently into the custody,
control, maintenance, or support, of a negro. (South Carolina)
Circus Tickets
All circuses, shows, and tent exhibitions, to which the attendance of…more than one race is
invited or expected to attend shall provide for the convenience of its patrons not less than two
ticket offices with individual ticket sellers, and not less than two entrances to the said
performance, with individual ticket takers and receivers, and in the case of outside or tent
performances, the said ticket offices shall not be less than twenty-five (25) feet apart.
(Louisiana)
Cohabitation
Any negro man and white woman, or any white man and negro woman, who are not married to
each other, who shall habitually live in and occupy in the nighttime the same room shall each
be punished by imprisonment not exceeding twelve (12) months, or by fine not exceeding five
hundred ($500.00) dollars. (Florida)
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Sampling of Jim Crow Laws – Set 2
Education
The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately.
(Florida)
Separate schools shall be maintained for the children of the white and colored races.
(Mississippi)
Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent; and
it shall be unlawful for any colored child to attend any white school, or any white child to
attend a colored school. (Missouri)
Separate rooms [shall] be provided for the teaching of pupils of African descent, and [when]
said rooms are so provided, such pupils may not be admitted to the school rooms occupied and
used by pupils of Caucasian or other descent. (New Mexico)
Any instructor who shall teach in any school, college or institution where members of the white
and colored race are received and enrolled as pupils for instruction shall be deemed guilty of a
misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars
($10.00) nor more than fifty dollars ($50.00) for each offense. (Oklahoma)
[The County Board of Education] shall provide schools of two kinds; those for white children
and those for colored children. (Texas)
Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to
be used by the race first using them. (North Carolina)
Fishing, Boating, and Bathing
The [Conservation] Commission shall have the right to make segregation of the white and
colored races as to the exercise of rights of fishing, boating and bathing. (Oklahoma)
Hospital Entrances
There shall be maintained by the governing authorities of every hospital maintained by the state
for treatment of white and colored patients separate entrances for white and colored patients
and visitors, and such entrances shall be used by the race only for which they are prepared.
(Mississippi)
Housing
Any person…who shall rent any part of any such building to a negro person or a negro family
when such building is already in whole or in part in occupancy by a white person or white
family, or vice versa when the building is in occupancy by a negro person or negro family,
shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine of not
less than twenty-five ($25.00) nor more than one hundred ($100.00) dollars or be imprisoned
not less than 10, or more than 60 days, or both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of
the court. (Louisiana)
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Sampling of Jim Crow Laws – Set 3
Intermarriage
All marriages of white persons with Negroes, Mulattos, Mongolians, or Malaya hereafter
contracted in the State of Wyoming are and shall be illegal and void. (Wyoming)
All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person and a person of
negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, or between a white person and a member of
the Malay race; or between the negro and a member of the Malay race; or between a person of
Negro descent, to the third generation, inclusive, and a member of the Malay race, are forever
prohibited, and shall be void. (Maryland)
The marriage of a person of Caucasian blood with a Negro, Mongolian, Malay, or Hindu shall
be null and void. (Arizona)
All marriages between a white person and a negro, or between a white person and a person of
negro descent to the fourth generation inclusive, are hereby forever prohibited. (Florida)
It shall be unlawful for a white person to marry anyone except a white person. Any marriage in
violation of this section shall be void. (Georgia)
All marriages between…white persons and negroes or white persons and Mongolians…are
prohibited and declared absolutely void…No person having one-eighth part or more of negro
blood shall be permitted to marry any white person, nor shall any white person be permitted to
marry any negro or person having one-eighth part or more of negro blood. (Missouri)
The marriage of a white person with a negro or mulatto or person who shall have one-eighth or
more of negro blood, shall be unlawful and void. (Mississippi)
Juvenile Delinquents
There shall be separate buildings, not nearer than one fourth mile to each other, one for white
boys and one for negro boys. White boys and negro boys shall not, in any manner, be
associated together or worked together. (Florida)
Libraries
The state librarian is directed to fit up and maintain a separate place for the use of the colored
people who may come to the library for the purpose of reading books or periodicals. (North
Carolina)
Any white person of such county may use the county free library under the rules and
regulations prescribed by the commissioners court and may be entitled to all the privileges
thereof. Said court shall make proper provision for the negroes of said county to be served
through a separate branch or branches of the county free library, which shall be administered by
[a] custodian of the negro race under the supervision of the county librarian. (Texas)
Mental Hospitals
The Board of Control shall see that proper and distinct apartments are arranged for said
patients, so that in no case shall Negroes and white persons be together. (Georgia)
Militia
The white and colored militia shall be separately enrolled, and shall never be compelled to
serve in the same organization. No organization of colored troops shall be permitted where
white troops are available, and where permitted to be organized, colored troops shall be under
the command of white officers. (North Carolina)
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Sampling of Jim Crow Laws – Set 4
Mining
The baths and lockers for the negroes shall be separate from the white race, but may be in the
same building. (Oklahoma)
Nurses
No person or corporation shall require any white female nurse to nurse in wards or rooms in
hospitals, either public or private, in which negro men are placed. (Alabama)
Parks
It shall be unlawful for colored people to frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for
the benefit, use and enjoyment of white persons…and unlawful for any white person to
frequent any park owned or maintained by the city for the use and benefit of colored persons.
(Georgia)
Pool and Billiard Rooms
It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together or in company with each
other at any game of pool or billiards. (Alabama)
Prisons
The warden shall see that the white convicts shall have separate apartments for both eating and
sleeping from the negro convicts. (Mississippi)
Promotion of Equality
Any person…who shall be guilty of printing, publishing or circulating printed, typewritten or
written matter urging or presenting for public acceptance or general information, arguments or
suggestions in favor of social equality or of intermarriage between whites and negroes, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to fine or not exceeding five hundred (500.00) dollars or
imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months or both. (Mississippi)
Railroads
The conductor of each passenger train is authorized and required to assign each passenger to
the car or the division of the car, when it is divided by a partition, designated for the race to
which such passenger belongs. (Alabama)
All railroad companies and corporations, and all persons running or operating cars or coaches
by steam on any railroad line or track in the State of Maryland, for the transportation of
passengers, are hereby required to provide separate cars or coaches for the travel and
transportation of the white and colored passengers. (Maryland)
The conductors or managers on all such railroads shall have power, and are hereby required, to
assign to each white or colored passenger his or her respective car, coach or compartment. If
the passenger fails to disclose his race, the conductor and managers, acting in good faith, shall
be the sole judges of his race. (Virginia)
Reform Schools
The children of white and colored races committed to the houses of reform shall be kept
entirely separate from each other. (Kentucky)
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Sampling of Jim Crow Laws – Set 5
Restaurants
It shall be unlawful to conduct a restaurant or other place for the serving of food in the city, at
which white and colored people are served in the same room, unless such white and colored
persons are effectually separated by a solid partition extending from the floor upward to a
distance of seven feet or higher, and unless a separate entrance from the street is provided for
each compartment. (Alabama)
All persons licensed to conduct a restaurant, shall serve either white people exclusively or
colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room or serve the
two races anywhere under the same license. (Georgia)
No persons, firms, or corporations, who or which furnish meals to passengers at station
restaurants or station eating houses, in times limited by common carriers of said passengers,
shall furnish said meals to white and colored passengers in the same room, or at the same table,
or at the same counter. (South Carolina)
Telephone Booths
The Corporation Commission is hereby vested with power and authority to require telephone
companies…to maintain separate booths for white and colored patrons when there is a demand
for such separate booths. That the Corporation Commission shall determine the necessity for
said separate booths only upon complaint of the people in the town and vicinity to be served
after due hearing as now provided by law in other complaints filed with the Corporation
Commission. (Oklahoma)
Theaters
Every person…operating…any public hall, theatre, opera house, motion picture show or any
place of public entertainment or public assemblage which is attended by both white and colored
persons, shall separate the white race and the colored race and shall set apart and
designate…certain seats therein to be occupied by white persons and a portion thereof , or
certain seats therein, to be occupied by colored persons. (Virginia)
Toilet Facilities
Every employer of white or negro males shall provide for such white or negro males reasonably
accessible and separate toilet facilities. (Alabama)
Transportation
The…Utilities Commission…is empowered and directed to require the establishment of
separate waiting rooms at all stations for the white and colored races. (North Carolina)
All passenger stations in this state operated by any motor transportation company shall have
separate waiting rooms or space and separate ticket windows for the white and colored races.
(Alabama)
Wine and Beer
All persons licensed to conduct the business of selling beer or wine…shall serve either white
people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the
same room at any time. (Georgia)
Source: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newcentury/5103
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Name: ____________________________
Jim Crow Evaluation Sheet
You have been provided a copy of actual laws that were set during what is known as the Jim Crow era, 1870s-1960s.
Carefully read through the law samples you have been given, and answer the following questions. You will be responsible
for summarizing these laws for your group members.
1. What types of things were made illegal under the Jim Crow laws you reviewed?
2. How do you think these laws affected the lives of African Americans? Of whites?
3. Which law do you think is most unfair and why?
4. How would you personally be affected by this law if it were legal today?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Name: ____________________________
Jim Crow Evaluation Sheet
You have been provided a copy of actual laws that were set during what is known as the Jim Crow era, 1870s-1960s.
Carefully read through the law samples you have been given, and answer the following questions. You will be responsible
for summarizing these laws for your group members.
1. What types of things were made illegal under the Jim Crow laws you reviewed?
2. How do you think these laws affected the lives of African Americans? Of whites?
3. Which law do you think is most unfair and why?
4. How would you personally be affected by this law if it were legal today?
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Success for Black Entrepreneurs in Durham, NC
In the early twentieth century, Parrish Street in Durham, North Carolina, was the hub of African American
business activity. This four-block district was known as “Black Wall Street,” a reference to the district of New
York City that is home to the New York Stock Exchange and the nation’s great financial firms. Although other
cities had similar districts, Durham’s was one of the most vital, and was nationally known. Parrish Street
bordered the Hayti community, Durham’s main African American residential district, and the two districts
together served as the center of black life in Durham. Elsewhere in North Carolina, in the depths of the Jim
Crow era, race relations were as bad as they ever had been. But Durham’s black businessmen thrived with the
tolerance, if not the active support, of their white counterparts.
The NC Mutual Life Insurance Company
On the first of April 1899, the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company opened for business at 114-116
West Parrish Street. The first month’s collections, after the payment of commissions, amounted only to $1.12,
but from such beginnings North Carolina Mutual grew to be the largest African American managed financial
institution in the United States.
Durham at the beginning of the twentieth century was fertile ground for the growth of such an enterprise. Forced
out of politics by the successful “White Supremacy” political campaign of 1898, Durham’s African American
leaders turned their talents to the business world instead. The African American community of Durham was
relatively prosperous and enjoyed better relations with its white counterpart than prevailed in many other
communities in the state. The idea of an insurance company, moreover, fit in naturally with a tradition among
African Americans of self-help, mutual aid societies or fraternities.
John Merrick, born into slavery in 1859, had become by the late 1890s a business success in Durham. Owner
of half a dozen barber shops and a real estate business, Merrick was also a member of the Grand United Order of
True Reformers, a mutual benefit society organized in Richmond in 1881 which had expanded into insurance
and banking. In 1898 Merrick brought together six of Durham’s leading black business and professional men
and organized North Carolina Mutual. Guided by John Merrick, Dr. Aaron M. Moore, and Charles Clinton
Spaulding, “The Company with a Soul and a Service” survived the hardship of its first years to achieve success
and help make Durham’s reputation as a center of African American economic life. The company was
reorganized in 1900 and Charles C. Spaulding was named general manager, under whose direction the company
grew and achieved national prominence.
Since its beginning in 1898, North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company has grown to become one of the
nation's most widely-known and successful business institutions. It is the only insurance company located in
North Carolina with a charter dated before 1900. With over $7.7 billion dollars of insurance in force, North
Carolina Mutual is the oldest and largest African American life insurance company in the United States.
Mechanics & Farmers Bank and the Bull City Drug Store
The North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company was soon joined by the Mechanics and Farmers Bank,
founded by nine prominent businessmen headed by R.B. Fitzgerald. Mechanics and Farmers opened for
business in 1908 and still operating today, the bank holds the distinction of being the first lending institution in
North Carolina to receive a Certificate of Authority from the Federal Housing Administration (1935).
The bank’s headquarters was located at 112 West Parrish Street. Between 1922 and 1999 and the main office of
the bank was located in the six-story building located at 116 W. Parrish Street. Today, M&F Bank has assets of
approximately $259 million and its headquarters is on Chapel Hill Boulevard, however, the bank continues to
maintain its downtown branch on Parrish Street.
In the same building as the bank’s headquarters (112 West Parrish Street), the Bull City Drug Company opened
in 1908. During this time, there were no centrally located drug stores for the African American community in
Durham. To increase healthcare accessibility, Dr. Aaron M. Moore and five other men founded the Bull City
Drug Company. After the first Bull City Drug store opened on the North Carolina Mutual Block, a second store
later opened in Hayti, the African American neighborhood in Durham.
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Prominent National Visitors
In 1910, Booker T. Washington came to Durham and visited NC Mutual Life Insurance accompanied by CC
Spaulding, Aaron McDuffie Moore and others responsible for the progress in Durham. Washington was
impressed, saying “if blacks across the south would emulate blacks in Durham, they would be on their way to
prosperity and economic security.”
In the early 1900s, W.E.B DuBois also visited and wrote about Durham saying, “There is a singular group in
Durham where a black man may get up in the morning from a mattress made by black men, in a house which a
black man built out of lumber which black men cut and planed; he may put on a suit which he bought at a
colored haberdashery and socks knit at a colored mill; he may cook victuals from a colored grocery on a stove
which black men fashioned; he may earn his living working for colored men, be sick in a colored hospital and
buried from a colored church; and the Negro insurance society will pay his widow enough to keep his children
in a colored school. This is surely progress.”
Parrish Street Today
The success of these businesses gave Durham a national reputation as the “Capital of the Black Middle Class.”
Their legacy continues in many important Durham institutions still today. And the entrepreneurial spirit of the
Black Wall Street pioneers is inspiring a whole new generation of business owners on Parrish Street.
respectively, and praised black entrepreneurship and the tolerance of whites.
In the 1960s, urban renewal wiped out much of Hayti and Durham’s black business community. However,
across the country, downtowns are getting a second life. Durham’s downtown, once neglected for suburban
sprawl, is quickly becoming the city’s hottest destination. Tobacco warehouses have been transformed into lofts
and condos bustling with residents. From international companies to mom-and-pop shops, upscale restaurants
and art galleries to Triple A baseball and world-class festivals, downtown Durham is thriving.
Historic Parrish Street is right at the heart of this revitalization. But that’s only part of what attracts businesses to
locate here. Durham’s downtown is one of a kind, with an attitude and a history all its own. The story of Black
Wall Street – people working together to achieve success in the face of adversity – is inspiring. And the legacy
of prosperity is one that can make any business owner proud.
It’s the combination of a storied past and a bright future that make Historic Parrish Street the ideal place for
professional services, retail establishments, restaurants and other businesses to flourish – together. The Parrish
Street Project was recently formed as an initiative of the City of Durham to commemorate the history of
Durham's Black Wall Street and spur economic revitalization along a central downtown corridor. The City of
Durham's Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) was the recipient of a planning grant from
the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. This money supported the beginnings of a
Parrish Street revitalization and historic commemoration project and lay groundwork for Parrish Street's future
as an educational and exciting destination.
Sources: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newcentury/6001;;
http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/eed/parrish/p_history_s1.cfm;
http://www.soulofamerica.com/durham-raleigh-black-wall-street.phtml
http://www.northcarolinahistory.org/encyclopedia/390/entry
Think About It
1.
What can be difficult about starting a new business? What risks may be involved?
2.
What additional difficulties and risks faced black entrepreneurs such as John Merrick, Dr. Aaron M. Moore, Charles
Clinton Spaulding, and R.B. Fitzgerald?
3.
Considering what you’ve learned about the Jim Crow era, and taking into account the difficulties any entrepreneur
might face, why is the formation and success of Durham’s “Black Wall Street” even more significant?
4.
Who should learn about this powerful history and why? Why is this important?
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Name: _____________________________
Parrish Street Scavenger Hunt
1. Select both the 1884 and 1913 Sanborn map. Move the transparency bar under the 1913 map back
and forth so that you can compare the two maps. What is one major difference you note?
2. Which building on Parrish Street is one of only three National Historic landmarks in Durham?
3. What types of businesses were located at 206 West Parrish Street in the early 1900s?
4. What year was 104 West Parrish Street built?
5. Where was the Bull City Drug Store located?
6. Who founded the Bull City Drug Store and why?
7. What was the name of NC Mutual’s monthly newsletter?
8. Who were four prominent African Americas who visited Durham at some point between 19101963?
9. Find the bell. What does this art installation represent?
10. In what ways did NC Mutual exhibit this theme?
11. What connection did Parrish Street have to the tobacco industry?
12. Create your own scavenger hunt question for this website to pose to the remainder of the class:
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Parrish Street Scavenger Hunt – Answer Key
1. Select both the 1884 and 1913 Sanborn map. Move the transparency bar under the 1913 map back
and forth so that you can compare the two maps. What is one major difference you note?
Answers will vary, but will likely note the amount of growth that took place in Durham.
2. Which building on Parrish Street is one of only three National Historic landmarks in Durham?
114-116 Parrish Street, which was the first location of NC Mutual
3. What types of businesses were located at 206 West Parrish Street in the early 1900s?
Physician, attorney, dentist, barber
4. What year was 104 West Parrish Street built?
1908
5. Where was the Bull City Drug Store located?
104 West Parrish Street
6. Who founded the Bull City Drug Store and why?
Charles Moore; to increase healthcare accessibility since there were no drug stores in the African
American community
7. What was the name of NC Mutual’s monthly newsletter?
The Whetstone
8. Who were four prominent African Americas who visited Durham at some point between 19101963? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; W.E.B. DuBois; Malcolm X; Booker T. Washington
9. Find the bell. What does this art installation represent?
“A legacy of community and institutional connections”
10. In what ways did NC Mutual exhibit this theme?
Its leaders founded and formed partnerships with other local institutions to reach out to as many
people as possible, creating a bond between a powerful business and places of worship and
education.
11. What connection did Parrish Street have to the tobacco industry?
It was named for tobacco tycoon E.J. Parrish and his father. Parrish Street was also the site of his
expansive 1879 warehouse. Early tobacco entrepreneurs Parrish, James B. Duke, Julian Carr,
John Green, and W.T. Blackwell transformed Durham’s business landscape.
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Name: _____________________
North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company - A Commitment to Service
“Since its beginning in 1898, North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company has grown to become one of the
nation's most widely-known and successful business institutions. It is the only insurance company located in
North Carolina with a charter dated before 1900 and North Carolina Mutual remains the oldest and largest
African American life insurance company in the United States.”
On October 20, 1898, seven African American men met in the office of Dr. Aaron M. Moore to plan and
organize NC Mutual Life Insurance Company. The founders, also including John Merrick and Charles Clinton
Spaulding, were men who were active in business, educational, medical and civic life of the Durham
community. During their planning stages, the group knew that approval from the NC General Assembly would
be necessary before their company could become a reality. The governing body of the state had to recognize the
company and issue an official legal charter. For this, the group relied on T.O. Fuller, a black senator in North
Carolina’s General Assembly, to present their charter and encourage approval from the state’s legislators. Fuller
had to work hard to keep the bill alive as it was passed from one committee to another within the General
Assembly, but finally, on February 29, 1899, the North Carolina Mutual’s charter was approved.
With an original motto of “Merciful to All,” later changed to “The Company with a Soul and a Service,” NC
Mutual has always been a “catalyst for minority, social and economic development. Racial self-help and uplift
are traditions of the Company dating back to its founding.” The original charter itself noted that the objective of
the company would be to provide relief to widows and orphans, aid those who were sick and the victims of
accidents, as well as provide burial for the dead. In fact, a portion of the company’s proceeds were turned over
to the Oxford Orphanage, located in Oxford, NC, to aid in caring for abandoned children.
NC Mutual officially opened for business on April 1, 1899. The company was reorganized in 1900 and Charles
C. Spaulding was named General Manager, under whose direction the company grew and achieved national
prominence. The Company has had nine presidents in its history: John Merrick, Dr. Aaron M. Moore, Charles
C. Spaulding, William J. Kennedy Jr., Asa T. Spaulding, J.W. Goodloe, William J. Kennedy III, Bert Collins
and James H. Speed Jr., who assumed office January 1, 2004.
“With a sense of corporate social consciousness and responsibility throughout its history, the Company
formulated its concept of the Double-Duty Dollar. Modeled after popular mutual benefit societies the concept
was based on the premise that income from insurance sales could be channeled back into the community. Over
the years, the Company has had programs to build strong black families and communities through jobs,
investments, loans, contributions and support of social programs.”
Founders and Early Builders (from www.ncmutuallife.com)
 John Merrick - the first dreamer and leader. A former slave, who learned to read and write in a
Reconstruction School. He later became a brick mason in Raleigh, North Carolina and learned the
barber trade during a lull in construction. Subsequently, he moved to Durham owning several barber
shops, some of which catered to wealthy white men. He was involved in real estate and the Royal
Knights of King David, a fraternal benefit society. It was there, Merrick got the notion of life insurance
from the very popular mutual benefit societies developing in the south. A seed had been planted.
Merrick was born on September 7, 1859 and died August 6, 1919.

Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore - A humanitarian. Born September 6, 1863 of free parents. He taught high
school for several years and attended medical school at Shaw University's Leonard Medical School. He
was the first Black person to practice medicine in the city of Durham. Dr. Moore was the Company's
first treasurer and wielded wide influence in the city. He was instrumental in starting other enterprises
such as a drug company, Lincoln Hospital and a library. He became president of the Company following
Merrick's death in 1919. He devoted full time to working for North Carolina Mutual until his death in
1923.
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
Charles Clinton Spaulding - The builder. Born in Columbus County, North Carolina, August 1, 1874.
He came to Durham at age twenty and attended high school graduating in 1898. He began his career as a
part-time agent with the Company and went on to become general manager in less than a year.
Spaulding served in various capacities, i.e., as agent, clerk, janitor and general manager. He was named
president in 1923, a post he held until his death in 1952. In addition to his career in life insurance, he
was widely respected. Mr. Spaulding served on Howard University's board of trustees from 1936 until
his death in 1952
Sources: All quotations within this article are from the website http://www.ncmutuallife.com/newsite/pages/about.html. “The End of an Era,” by Dorothy
Phelps Jones, was also used as a reference for further information .
For discussion:
1. Why does the fact that NC Mutual was founded in 1898 by African Americans make its prosperity even
more of a success story?
2. In what ways has NC Mutual exhibited a commitment to service?
3. What is meant by the concept “Double Duty Dollar?” Do you think such a concept is an effective business
decision? Why or why not?
4. Why do you think NC Mutual’s founders felt a commitment to service should be part of the company’s
charter and work?
5. How does this concept differ from your typical impression of an insurance company?
6. Why do you think NC Mutual has been so successful throughout the years?
7. What challenges did the founders (Merrick, Moore, and Spaulding) each face and overcome?
8. Of these three men, who most inspires you and why?
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Who Am I? - Image 1
Source: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Photographer: Cornelius Marion Battey.
Retrieved from: http://thelouvertureproject.org/index.php?title=File:WEB_DuBois_1918.jpg
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Who Am I? – Image 2
Source: http://www.cksinfo.com/americana/ushistory/africanamericanrights/index.html
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Who Am I? - Image 3
Source: http://www.durhamcountylibrary.org/dcrhp/mlk5.php
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Black Businesses in Durham
Excerpt from "The Upbuilding of Black Durham: The Success of the Negroes and their Value to a Tolerant and
Helpful Southern City," by W. E. B. Du Bois, in World's Work vol. 23 (Jan. 1912).
Durham, N. C., is a place which the world instinctively associates with tobacco...It is, however, because of
another aspect of its life that this article is written: namely, its solution of the race problem. There is in this small
city a group of five thousand or more colored people, whose social and economic development is perhaps more
striking than that of any similar group in the nation.
The Negroes of Durham County pay taxes on about a half million dollars’ worth of property or an average of
nearly $500 a family, and this property has more than doubled in value in the last ten years.…
In all colored groups one may notice something of this cooperation in church, school, and grocery store. But in
Durham, the development has surpassed most other groups and become of economic importance to the whole
town.
There are, for instance, among the colored people of the town fifteen grocery stores, eight barber shops, seven
meat and fish dealers, two drug stores, a shoe store, a haberdashery, and an undertaking establishment. These
stores carry stocks averaging (save in the case of the smaller groceries) from $2,000 to $8,000 in value.
This differs only in degree from a number of towns; but black Durham has in addition to this developed five
manufacturing establishments which turn out mattresses, hosiery, brick, iron articles, and dressed lumber. These
enterprises represent an investment of more than $50,000. Beyond this the colored people have a number of
financial enterprises among which are a building and loan association, a real estate company, a bank, and three
industrial insurance companies. The cooperative bonds of the group are completed in social lines by a couple of
dozen professional men, twenty school teachers, and twenty churches.…
The first thing I saw in black Durham was its new training school — four neat white buildings suddenly set on
the sides of a ravine, where a summer Chautauqua for colored teachers was being held. The whole thing had
been built in four months by colored contractors after plans made by a colored architect, out of lumber from the
colored mill and ironwork largely from the colored foundry. Those of its two hundred and fifty students who
boarded at the school, slept on mattresses from the colored factory and listened to colored instructors from New
York, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and North Carolina. All this was the partially
realized dream of one colored man, James E. Shepard. He formerly worked as secretary for a great Christian
organization, but dissatisfied at a peculiarly un-Christian drawing of the color line, he determined to erect at
Durham a kind of training school for ministers and social workers which would be “different.”
One morning there came out to the school a sharp-eyed brown man of thirty, C. C. Spaulding, who manages the
largest Negro industrial insurance company in the world. At his own expense he took the whole school to town
in carriages to “show them what colored people were doing in Durham.”
Naturally he took them first to the home of his company — “The North Carolina Mutual and Provident
Association,” an institution which is now twelve years old. One has a right to view industrial insurance with
some suspicion and the Insurance Commissioner of South Carolina made last year a fifteen days thorough
examination of this enterprise. Then he wrote: “I can not but feel that if all other companies are put on the same
basis as yours, that it will mean a great deal to industrial insurance in North and South Carolina, and especially a
great benefit to the Negro race.”
The company’s business has increased from less than a thousand dollars in 1899 to an income of a quarter of a
million in 1910. It has 200,000 members, has paid a half million dollars in benefits, and owns its office
buildings in three cities.…
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The Durham office building of this company is neat and light. Down stairs in the rented portion we visited the
men’s furnishing store which seemed a business-like establishment and carried a considerable stock of goods.
The shoe store was newer and looked more experimental; the drug store was small and pretty.
From here we went to the hosiery mill and the planing mill. The hosiery mill was to me of singular interest.
Three years ago I met the manager, C. C. Amey. He was then teaching school, but he had much unsatisfied
mechanical genius. The white hosiery mills in Durham were succeeding and one of them employed colored
hands. Amey asked for permission here to learn to manage the intricate machines, but was refused. Finally,
however, the manufacturers of the machines told him that they would teach him if he came to Philadelphia. He
went and learned. A company was formed and thirteen knitting and ribbing machines at seventy dollars apiece
were installed, with a capacity of sixty dozen men’s socks a day. At present the sales are rapid and satisfactory,
and already machines are ordered to double the present output; a dyeing department and factory building are
planned for the near future.
The brick yard and planing mill are part of the general economic organization of the town. R. B. Fitzgerald, a
Northern-born Negro, has long furnished brick for a large portion of the state and can turn out 30,000 bricks a
day.
To finance these Negro businesses, which are said to handle a million and a half dollars a year, a small banking
institution has been started. The “Mechanics’ and Farmers’ Bank” looks small and experimental and owes its
existence to rather lenient banking laws. It has a paid-in capital of $11,000 and it has $17,000 deposited by 500
different persons.…
Three men began the economic building of black Durham: a minister with college training, a physician with
professional training, and a barber who saved his money. These three called to their aid a bright hustling young
graduate of the public schools, and with these four, representing vision, knowledge, thrift, and efficiency, the
development began. The college man planned the insurance society, but it took the young hustler to put it
through. The barber put his savings into the young business man’s hands, the physician gave his time and
general intelligence. Others were drawn in — the brickmaker, several teachers, a few college-bred men, and a
number of mechanics. As the group began to make money, it expanded and reached out. None of the men are
rich — the richest has an income of about $25,000 a year from business investments and eighty tenements; the
others of the inner group are making from $5,000 to $15,000 — a very modest reward as such rewards go in
America.
Quite a number of the colored people have built themselves pretty and well-equipped homes — perhaps fourteen
of these homes cost from $2,500 to $10,000; they are rebuilding their churches on a scale almost luxurious, and
they are deeply interested in their new training school. There is no evidence of luxury — a horse and carriage,
and the sending of children off to school is almost the only sign of more than ordinary expenditure.
If, now, we were considering a single group, geographically isolated, this story might end here. But never forget
that Durham is in the South and that around these 5,000 Negroes are twice as many whites who own most of the
property, dominate the political life exclusively, and form the main current of social life. What now has been the
attitude of these people toward the Negroes? In the case of a notable few it has been sincerely sympathetic and
helpful, and in the case of a majority of the whites it has not been hostile. Of the two attitudes, great as has
undoubtedly been the value of the active friendship of the Duke family, General Julian S. Carr, and others, I
consider the greatest factor in Durham’s development to have been the disposition of the mass of ordinary white
citizens of Durham to say: “Hands off — give them a chance — don’t interfere.”
Source: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newcentury/4819
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Black businesses in Durham - Discussion Questions
1. Why do you think Du Bois traveled to and wrote so positively about Durham in 1912?
2. Describe the various businesses run by African American in Durham. Why was this collection of
African American businesses so significant during this time period?
3. Why did Du Bois believe these businesses were successful?
4. How were African American businesses funded in Durham?
5. Why do you think Du Bois mentioned the nice houses built by African Americans in Durham?
6. According to Du Bois, what percentage of Durham was African American?
7. What did Du Bois say was the attitude of whites towards successful African Americans? How did
this differ from how African Americans were treated in other North Carolina cities, such as
Wilmington?
Source: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/nchist-newcentury/4819
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Parish Street
Congratulations on Your New Job with the
Heritage Directions Urban Planning Consulting
Firm!
The Parrish Street Project & Advocacy Group is an initiative to commemorate the
history of Durham’s “Black Wall Street” and spur economic revitalization along this
central downtown location. The City of Durham recently received a two-year
revitalization and planning grant from the US Department of Housing & Urban
Development, and thus, your urban planning consulting firm has been hired to create a
revitalization plan for Parrish Street.
The Parrish Street Advocacy Group and the City of Durham are seeking a plan that will make Parrish Street
once more a vibrant location in the heart of downtown Durham. They also hope that any plan presented will
focus on the celebration, exploration, and preservation of Parrish Street’s important history.
As employees of Heritage Directions Urban Planning Consulting Firm, your group has been tasked with
developing a revitalization plan for Parrish Street. You should rely on what you have already learned about
Parrish Street, as well as conduct additional research, to find out how to make this area of downtown Durham a
“hot” destination, while also preserving and celebrating its diverse history. When creating your plan, your
group should consider:
 What aspects of Parrish Street’s history are most important and compelling? What buildings should be
renovated and/or preserved and why? How will you make use of old and new space on Parrish Street?
 While celebrating its past, how will you promote the future of Parrish Street? How will you draw visitors to
this area? How will you make Parrish Street a “hot” destination?
 When developing your revitalization plan, address the following components and describe what will be
included on Parrish Street that falls within these categories:
o Businesses
o Non-profits
o Arts and Entertainment
o Structures and Landscaping (sidewalks, parking decks, art installations, lighting, plants, etc.)
o Special Events
 How will your plan honor and celebrate the history of Parrish Street? What will you include in your design
to educate visitors about the history?
Your final revitalization plan must include:
 An overall map or 3-D model of your vision of a revitalized Parrish Street (and optionally the surrounding
area) which labels the various institutions, businesses, structures, etc. that you have deemed important to the
revitalization of this area; make sure you maintain the original businesses (i.e., NC Mutual) that are still
thriving
 At least one detailed sketch or 3-D model of how you envision Parrish Street to appear once your plan has
been implemented. This sketch might be of one particular building on Parrish Street (perhaps that which
you deem most exciting or creative), it might be a rendering of an art installation you’ve designed that
represents Parrish Street; it might be a sketch showing the details of a ribbon cutting ceremony you’ve
scheduled, etc. Be creative!
 A pitch that you present to the Parrish Street Advocacy Group members and Durham local government
officials, explaining your plan and vision, and why it will be successful in driving visitors and businesses to
Parrish Street. During this pitch, you will display your map, sketch, and any other creative information you
choose to include. Your pitch should be 3-5 minutes long and can be delivered in any creative format you
choose (i.e. Power Point presentation, speech with poster boards or banners, creative skit, etc.)
Due Date: ____________________________________ ou and your group will present your pitch, map/model,
and sketch/model, to the remainder of class on the due date.
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What questions do you have about this assignment?
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